


5 + 1 = ∞

by anon_nim



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Community: takostation, Domestic Fluff, Growing Up Together, Light Angst, M/M, Slice of Life, highschool sweethearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-09 23:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12286962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anon_nim/pseuds/anon_nim
Summary: —then Kyungsoo watches his boyfriend takes the towel and put it around his neck, pulling them in for a kiss. It's terrible andhemight have used too much force than needed because their teeth clash and it freaking hurts. Kyungsoo groans in agony while his boyfriend laughs like a maniac—Kyungsoo pinches his arm. "I think you broke my teeth."Or, a story of how Kyungsoo handles his boyfriend's antics on a daily basis.[Written for Takostation 2017]





	5 + 1 = ∞

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #100 The five times Chanyeol asks Kyungsoo to do something and gets no as an answer and the one time the answer is yes (yes, I'll marry you)  
> Please do remember that not every story has to be happy all the way or, end in a happy note.
> 
>  
> 
> Mods, you guys are the best - I'll send you love, hugs and kisses for eternity. Special thanks for [LC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerwines/pseuds/summerwines), my savior because I'm really bad with grammar and just English in general, without him this story might never finished. And he's the one who polished this fic to be such a beauty. To the prompter, I hope I did justice to your prompt~

“Please, please, Kyungsoo. Pretty please? For me?”

Kyungsoo sighs, ignoring Chanyeol’s desperate plea by turning to his side of the bed and holding the duvet higher to cover his body - naked save for his oversized t-shirt, which is actually Chanyeol’s. _There goes my lazy morning,_ he thinks dejectedly. Just moment before, they’re content with cuddling and pampering kisses to each other's body parts but of course Chanyeol must ruin it the second he opens his mouth (which Kyungsoo would like to feel against his, kiss him senseless until Chanyeol forget to speak altogether, maybe later) and says, _hey, hear me out, will you?_ Honestly, Kyungsoo should've known better.

He tries to get back to sleep, muting out Chanyeol's voice as a background noise. The two of them don’t have to leave the bed before noon anyway, better to use his free time wisely instead of arguing with Chanyeol and his silly ideas. It works for almost two minutes before Chanyeol takes drastic measures and smothers Kyungsoo with his tight hug, squeezing the breath out of him. 

“I don’t want to. Chanyeol, no.” _Bad dog,_ he almost says, although Chanyeol is nothing but an overeager grown up man. “If I don’t want to do it for myself, why would I do it for you?”

“Because I’m your boyfriend?”

“What does that have to do with dying my hair to _bright fucking red_? Actually, what does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re my boyfriend, which means you will do everything it takes to make me happy. Anything. Even if it means dyeing your hair rainbow.”

Kyungsoo frowns. “Then, using the same logic, you’ll stop this immediately because I love my black hair. Don’t you want _me_ to be happy, boyfriend?” He asks, voice slightly titling in tease. 

Even without looking, he can feel Chanyeol’s pout, right between his shoulder blades when Chanyeol answers, “Fuck your logic. I don’t know why I date you in the first place.”

“Maybe because you love me?”

“Do I?”

“I don't know, do you?”

Kyungsoo grins and turns to face Chanyeol who instead of answering, starts kissing Kyungsoo’s neck. Kyungsoo laughs a little before he reciprocates. He closes his eyes, humming a small approval when Chanyeol's hand starts to wonder too, tracing his chest under the shirt. His own hand lazily moves to Chanyeol's butt, pats it gently before he pinches it. 

Chanyeol squawks. “How dare you!” He shouts in mock offense, looks scandalous enough that Kyungsoo can't hold back his laughter. “What has my gorgeous ass ever done to you? This is a crime—”

“I’m sorry, let me kiss it better?” Kyungsoo cuts him, still chuckling between his words.

“Nah, just kiss me instead.”

Kyungsoo does just that, taking his time to feel Chanyeol's lips and giggling when neither of them can stop smiling - which makes the kiss harder but no one really minds. They end up making out lazily and Kyungsoo feels content, dazed and blissful that he smiles drowsily at Chanyeol's peck on his left eyebrow. 

“I’ll dye mine too, we can be the new fiery couple on campus.”

“No,” he mumbles back, now more asleep than awake. “Bright red is too bright.”

“Dark red, then? Hmm?”

“Yeah, sure,” he says sarcastically, before realizing a tad too late what that might mean. He adds, “Nah, I’ll pass,” with a rushed desperation, hoping Chanyeol will let it go.

Chanyeol only chuckles in response.

 

“But you _do_ love me, right?” Kyungsoo asks later, second before falling asleep, remembering that Chanyeol never really answered him. 

“Yeah, I do love you,” Chanyeol whispers. “So much.”

+

Chanyeol knows it’s wrong, really.

Kyungsoo is a heavy sleeper, nothing can wake him up when he finishes his night routine and clambers into bed with his fresh changed pajamas, curling into himself before reaching unconsciously at him when Chanyeol finally decides it’s time to go to bed. Chanyeol _loves_ this part. He waits for it whenever he gets to bed at night, eager to see Kyungsoo's grabby fingers directed at him before arranging their position into a more comfortable one. He would leave a peck at Kyungsoo's forehead and whisper him goodnight before he follows suit into dreamland. 

Even if Kyungsoo gets awakened rudely, it takes him glaring at the source of it and squinting at the ceiling for fifteen minutes and forty seven seconds (give or take) before he’s fully functional again. Today, Chanyeol uses this fact to his advantage. 

“Kyungsoo, baby, I’m sorry.”

It’s 4 o’clock in the morning and Chanyeol shakes Kyungsoo awake with force, urging him to wake up. Kyungsoo blinks sleepily at him and groans when he drags him out of the bed toward the bathroom. He dumps Kyungsoo's body near the toilet seat and chuckles when he finds Kyungsoo's already back into his slumber when he comes back, armed with a box of dye. He arranges Kyungsoo’s body so his head is cushioned against his lap and gets to work. He chose the darkest shade of red he could find in the nearest convenient store. It’s not that obvious, Kyungsoo might even thank him later because Chanyeol can imagine perfectly how hot and sexy Kyungsoo will look with his newly dyed hair.

The hardest part is when he’s supposed to rinse Kyungsoo's hair. At this, Chanyeol hesitates. Kyungsoo is still in deep sleep after Chanyeol applies the dye carefully on his scalp, rubbing it just the way Kyungsoo likes.

“Kyungsoo?” He pokes Kyungsoo’s cheek and receives a light snore, so Chanyeol nods to himself, feeling determined. “Okay, you know I love you, right?” 

He proceeds with caution, but Kyungsoo still wakes up when Chanyeol pours the water to his head. He blinks, wide eyes staring right at Chanyeol's and for a second Chanyeol fears, praying for his life.

“Um...” he says dumbly.

But then Kyungsoo only sighs, closes his eyes again and nuzzles closer to his lap, wetting Chanyeol's pants in the process. Chanyeol quickly pours the rest of the warm water and rinses everything without saying anything else. He makes sure to hug Kyungsoo tighter for the rest of the morning as an apology after tucking Kyungsoo back to their bed, staring wide eyed at the ceiling and waiting for the time Kyungsoo really wakes up and realizes what has he done.

 

So, yeah, Chanyeol knows it's wrong, really. And he doesn’t know why he thought dyeing Kyungsoo's hair while he’s half asleep was a good idea, but he did it anyway. And that morning, when Kyungsoo begins to get ready for his class like usual, spending a noticeable amount of time glaring at his hair, Chanyeol winces internally. 

“Do you like it?” Chanyeol asks timidly, only to be answered with a punch on his shoulder.

But considering the punches he usually gets, Chanyeol knows that Kyungsoo secretly likes his new hair, the same red shade as Chanyeol's own. Chanyeol grins. It’s definitely a success.

* * *

It’s quiet when he opens the door, Kyungsoo sighs tiredly. Chanyeol only has one class in the evening but his part time job in the radio station demands him to be awake in the ungodly hours. Chanyeol has had to be there since the afternoon to do _“things and you know, stuff”_ like he likes to say, but Chanyeol’s own program won't be airing until hours later and will be finished at midnight. So Kyungsoo makes dinner, eating alone and leaving the leftovers for Chanyeol to reheat. He showers because he stinks from all the chicken he served at the restaurant. Afterwards, he finishes his night routines and waits patiently on his bed.

When Chanyeol's segment starts, Kyungsoo hears his loud voice booming through the radio. It’s weird, listening to him like this, no matter how much he has heard it already - never missed a single show. He decided to give him a call, not really surprised when Chanyeol recognizes his voice from the first _‘hello?’_ Kyungsoo answers the pleasantries with ease and says his requested song (which is Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend - just because he could) when Dahye - Chanyeol's co-host - remembers that they haven't ask him his name yet.

“Who is this if I may ask?”

“It’s, umm, Kyung... do?

“Really? You sounded unsure, your name is really Kyungdo?” Chanyeol asks, his voice hinted with mirth that Kyungsoo can picture him perfectly, grinning at the other side. 

“Yeah, it's _Park_ Kyungdo.”

And then he hears Chanyeol's loud boisterous laugh, smiling to himself when Dahye joins, giggling while asking them what happened and wondering if she missed a joke. The two throw a little banter before Chanyeol recovers from his laughing fit. Kyungsoo steals a glance at the clock, they’re not supposed to be gossiping and his time is tight.

“He’s my boyfriend,” Chanyeol finally answers when Dahye keeps probing, feeling left out. “I know it's him so I don't bother with asking his name, but Park Kyungdo? Really? Way to be creative, Soo.”

“Hey, I—”

“Oh! You must be Kyungsoo-ssi then!” Dahye exclaims. “Thanks for calling us, Chanyeol-oppa talked a lot about you and the listeners started to doubt if you were real! His fangirls must be heartbroken and you must know this already, but he worships you, Kyungsoo-ssi—”

“Dahye! Stop it, you're embarrassing.” Chanyeol cuts Dahye off, apologizing purposely to Kyungsoo and other listeners. “Anyway, thanks for calling Kyungsoo-ah. Wait for the song, okay? But don't wait up for me,” Chanyeol adds, whispering, “Just sleep first if you're tired.”

“Aw.. So sweet, oppa, you might make our listeners jealous.” Dahye's voice pipes in. “And what's the point of whispering anyway? Everyone in this country could hear it, still!”

Chuckling, Kyungsoo doesn't bother to add his insight, deciding it's better if he ends the call already. “Sure, see you at home—”

“Oh wait, Kyungsoo-ssi?” Dahye half shouts, stopping him from clicking the end button. “Is it okay if we ask you one last question?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Just one last question I swear,” Dahye begs, “And then you can sleep in peace.”

“Dahye, what question are you talking about?”

Chanyeol sounds as confused as Kyungsoo feels but he clears his throat carefully, trying to get the two radio hosts attention before they start bickering again. “I mean, sure? Just ask away, Dahye-ssi.”

“You know, since Chanyeol-oppa can't keep his mouth shut and whines about wanting to get a dog I was getting really frustrated and— I don't know, could you, maybe, tame him a little?”

“Oh that!” Chanyeol practically shouts, it makes Kyungsoo winces and pray for the people who had used earphone listening to Chanyeol's radio show - this could be an important lesson for them. “Yeah, Soo, I've been hinting about it but you doesn't seems to get my signal!”

“That's because I don't.” Kyungsoo bites his lower lip, frowning. “Anyway, Dahye-ssi, I'll try to. Please take care of Chanyeol, he's a bit of airhead sometimes.”

 

Kyungsoo ends up waiting for Chanyeol and it's almost one in the morning - night? - when the front door opens with a squeak. Chanyeol keeps preventing him from calling someone to repair it, told him he'll do it by himself but never really got the time to do so. Sleepy and cold, Kyungsoo's just glad that the food doesn't get too cold before Chanyeol get the time to eat it and start to prepare it. 

“Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol's voice booms through the house. “Oh, hey. I told you not to wait up for me.”

Shaking his head slightly, he takes Chanyeol's backpack and put it on the hanger behind their bedroom door before come back outside and ordering Chanyeol to sit. “Just eat up.”

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol's schedules don’t match up on Thursday, with Kyungsoo having to leave early in the morning for class, only to come home after his part time job to an empty house because Chanyeol already left for his own job two hours earlier. So they could only catch up like this, in the middle of the night, thankful that no one has to wake up early for tomorrow - today? Watching Chanyeol eat eagerly though, Kyungsoo starts to feel glad this is only a once a week thing because Chanyeol looks starved and it doesn't sit well with Kyungsoo seeing his boyfriend tired to the bone. Chanyeol keeps spewing compliments at Kyungsoo's cooking skill and snippets of his day, while Kyungsoo listens, smiling and throwing random replies. 

“Did you forget to eat dinner again?” He asks casually when Chanyeol washes the dishes. “You'll get sick if you keep doing that, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol shrugs, flashing Kyungsoo his signature grin before going back to his dirty plate. “Oh, hey, I saw this cute poodle on my way to the studio today. It was so cute. Kinda looks like me, but it's black. And a dog.”

“Yeah?” He asks noncommittally, waiting for the punch line.

“Yeah. And I kinda wondered, you know, one little buddy wouldn't hurt, right? So.. ugh, okay. Can we adopt one?” Chanyeol finally turns to face him, eyes wide and hopeful.

“Chanyeol, come here.” He pats the chair next to him. Chanyeol sits warily and Kyungsoo is ready to open his mouth but Chanyeol's way faster than him, raising his hand to stop him.

“Wait. Before you say anything, can I get a hug first?”

Scooting back further from Chanyeol's side, Kyungsoo tries discreetly to sniff his clothes, wincing a little. “No. And, what were we talking about again? Oh, yeah, also, no, we can't, _absolutely_ can't, adopt a dog - big or small, poodle or not.”

“Fuck, I knew it.” Chanyeol glares at him accusingly. “This is so tragic. So then, can I get a hug?”

“Again, _no_. You know I hate it when you hug me after my shift at the chicken place. I smell.” He pauses before adding, “Like chicken, literally.”

“Yeah, but, you smell really good. Edible, delicious.”

Kyungsoo dodges Chanyeol attempts at front-hugs and back-hugs, running to their bedroom and curling himself with their blanket, laughing when Chanyeol gives up and trying to tickle him instead. They stop when neither of them could breathe without panting out air. Kyungsoo uncurls and stares at Chanyeol's back side when he changes into his pajamas set. He whines when Chanyeol only sits at the edge of the bed, staring. 

“I knew it.” Chanyeol begins, and Kyungsoo thinks, _here we go again._ “I knew you wouldn't budge even if I showed you cute photos of the dog, so I didn’t even try. _But,_ I have called for back-up. _Moms_ \- you know, like yours and mine, both, ha! - said it's fine as long as I eat the medicine for my allergy, even your brother—”

Kyungsoo shuts Chanyeol up with a kiss.

++

_“Dajiahao wo shi Chen.”_

Seeing the serious expression on Jongdae's face, Chanyeol's brain clicks and decided to poke fun on it. “What's that mean?”

“Hello, my name is Jongdae,” Jongdae deadpans and puffs out his chest out proudly. 

Only, it makes him points an accusing finger at Jongdae and shouts, “He's making that up!”

Kyungsoo glances at him before nodding in agreement, he turns to stare at Jongdae. “I don't believe you.”

“But it's true! I'm telling you the truth!”

“Say it again, slowly.”

_“Dajiahao wodemingzi shi Chen.”_

“It's different from the first one!” Chanyeol shouts again. “You didn’t even say your name!”

“It has the same meaning and I did! Baekhyun told me so, it's somewhere in there although I don't know which one!” Jongdae huffs, taking out his phone and before long, Baekhyun's voice can be heard on the speaker. “Baek! Say your Chinese greeting. The long one.”

 _“Dajiahao wodemingzi shi Boxian,”_ Baekhyun answers readily. “What’s happening? Hi Dae, I miss you. And why were you slurring, are you drunk—”

“Yeah, okay, bye.” Jongdae smiles smugly at his friends after he ended the call heartlessly. “See? I nailed that one.”

“Huh. Just because Baekhyun applied to a foreign exchange in Beijing doesn't mean he can magically speak Chinese fluent—”

“Actually babe, Jongdae was right. I was just teasing him,” Kyungsoo says, smiling at Chanyeol with that cute little smile. 

Chanyeol's heart swoons.

“Oh okay. Jongdae you get one point.”

“You what? Kyungsoo, I trusted you,” Jongdae whines. “I can't believe I got tricked into this stupid game.”

“My turn! I can speak French; _Allô, bonjour. C’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer._ ”

“Did you just say ‘bonjour?’” Jongdae asks, eyebrows rose up high.

“ _Oui_. Only with the correct pronunciation, not like yours.”

“It sounds legit to me,” Kyungsoo quips. “One point for Chanyeol.”

“ _Merci._ ”

“What is happening, did you two just schemed me?”

Snickering, Kyungsoo ignores Jongdae's remarks and continue, “I could speak Japanese; _Konichiwa._ ”

“Huh, everyone knows _Konichiwa_. Next you'll say _Ohayou_ and _Arigatou_.”

Chanyeol sees how Kyungsoo's eyebrows twitch dangerously and hides his snicker behind his hand. “I was gonna introduce myself but what is your point Jongdae?”

“What's flower in Japanese?”

“We let your terrible pronunciation in Mandarin slide but this is how you paid for us?” Kyungsoo asks in jest. “But fine, it's _Sakura._ ”

“Baby, it's _‘hana.’_ ”

“Yeah that works too, thanks Yeol. Next!”

Jongdae's eyes widen dramatically. “You guys doesn't play fair!” He shouts. “It's bad already that if one of you lose, you'll split the bill but you also decided to cheat? Ganging up against me?”

Kyungsoo scoffs. “We don't care, okay? Now what's your next question or are you gonna admit my greatness and I don't know, pay for the drinks?”

“Ugh! Fine. Wait a sec.”

“Ugh. _Hai. Chotto matte_.”

“No, I haven't started yet! What the fuck,” Jongdae grumbles under his breath. 

Chanyeol watches in amusement. Kyungsoo's cheeks become pink in color and his ears go red after his third glass. He should stop him from ordering another drink so Kyungsoo wouldn’t regret anything come the morning. Chanyeol’s also sure that Kyungsoo will point all the blame on him if he does anything stupid. Jongdae's hand twitches against his phone and Chanyeol grins, knowing that he must be itching to open some translator apps. 

“Alright, what about.. cat?” 

“ _Transformer_.”

“Are you being serious? Transformer isn’t even a Japanese film, Kyungsoo and what I said was _cat_.”

“Oh, I thought you said _car_.” Snickering, Kyungsoo tries to pat Jongdae's arm only to be brushed off with a scowl and manages to hold back his laughter enough to calm him down. “Hey, I was just joking, Dae.”

“Cat.” Jongdae stresses at the word, slaps Kyungsoo's arm repeatedly when he doesn't stop laughing. “Just tell me what they called cat in Japanese and we could end this stupid game Kyungsoo. _Cat._ ”

“ _Doraemon_ ,” Kyungsoo manages to keep his face straight for a minute before he burst out laughing. “Oh my god, I'm so funny!”

Chanyeol laughs hard when Kyungsoo takes his hand and fist bumped it while Jongdae only throws his hand up and scream, “God, help me.” But Chanyeol doesn't pay him any attention because suddenly he get a lapful of boyfriend on his care.

 

The night ends when Chanyeol decided enough is enough, force Jongdae to pay for their drinks while Kyungsoo mumbles that the floor is spinning and wavering under his feet. The cold night outside makes him shiver and Jongdae's drunken slur at his attempt on singing only provides a headache. He tries to swat Jongdae away, but manages to punch Kyungsoo's forehead, made the smaller man staggers and sway dangerously close to the ground. Chanyeol quickly catches him, apologizing and hugs him tight. Part of it is a way to keep Kyungsoo warm, the other part is as an apology — although deep inside, he knows that's just an excuse to hug Kyungsoo.

“Chanyeol, stop smothering me, you're really annoying.”

Watching the scene from the sideline, Jongdae falls to the ground, clutching his stomach in mirth. Chanyeol glares at him and hails a cab for all of them, wondering why he's always have to be the sober one in all of their outing. He also wonders if any of them will remember this in the morning.

 

“And then he said I'm annoying, and to stop smothering him,” Chanyeol re-tells. “But we've been hugging a lot more than usual, so I guess it's fine to smother him _now_. But then, am I really annoying?”

Jongdae has invited himself over to their apartment since four hours twenty four minutes and fifty seven seconds ago, as per Chanyeol’s latest count. At first he tries to raid their kitchen but gives up a second later when he realizes none of the house residents are being productive for the day, so they decided to laze together in the living room, munching on pizzas they ordered thirty minutes ago. Jongdae also decides he has nothing better to do than ask Chanyeol about their drunken hang out four days ago because apparently he doesn't remember why he’s got an angry Baekhyun on his trail and why his wallet doesn't have any cash in it — Jongdae's still debating which one's more concerning. 

“You shouldn't give up so easily,” Jongdae says in between chewing his gummy worms (he always brings one everywhere, just in case). “You know that when your lover says you're annoying, they usually don’t mean it right?”

“Kyungsoo meant it.”

“Knowing Kyungsoo actually, yeah, you could be right.” Jongdae rubs his chin, thinking face on. “Although, I don't know— it's kinda hard concluding this case because I saw how Kyungsoo leeches on you everyday. Like now, for instance—”

“Guys,” Kyungsoo pipes in drowsily, “Can we please not talk about me like I'm not here?”

Chanyeol smiles fondly at Kyungsoo's figure although he can only see the back of his head - because Kyungsoo decided that Chanyeol's body is the best sleeping spot. He'll have to leave for work soon. It's Thursday and Chanyeol kinda envies Kyungsoo's luck because the chicken place closed up for the week - “for the first time in years, Yeol! Finally! They never let me use my sick leave, those heartless creatures,” - and coincidentally, he also doesn't have class today. So Kyungsoo doesn't really move at all since morning, only crawling from on top of Chanyeol to go to the bathroom and eat before claiming his spot once more.

Jongdae doesn't care though, continuing, “But then, if your lover _really_ thinks you're annoying, what does that mean? That they hate you?”

“God, Jongdae stop putting stupidly weird ideas into Chanyeol's head! He had it enough without your help! And that means if I like him enough when he's this annoying, can you imagine how much in love I'll be if he's not? It'll be a total disaster and we don't need that. Chanyeol alone is a walking disaster.”

“Now, can we not talk about _me_ like I'm not here?” Chanyeol laughs when Kyungsoo tugs at his ear and closes his eyes again. “I'm kidding, Soo. You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, anyway, don't forget to eat dinner _again,_ okay? I feel bad because I didn't cook all day but it's not an excuse for you to miss dinner.”

Chanyeol frowns because Kyungsoo doesn't say he loves him back, mouthing, _‘Kyungsoo doesn't love me anymore’_ , at Jongdae. Jongdae though, once again doesn't seems to care, he even looks amused.

“Hey, Kyungie, what do you mean by ‘again’ huh? Does Chanyeollie always forgot to eat his dinner?”

 _‘Shit,’_ Chanyeol thinks, Jongdae is so dead today. He hopes Kyungsoo's already asleep, but it's all in vain when Kyungsoo mumbles back his answer.

“Yeah, he always does.” Chanyeol watches how Kyungsoo's eyes flutter, trying hard to stay awake. When he continues, Kyungsoo's voice is barely a mumble, “On Thursday. He works really hard. Forgets to eat.”

“Oh, really now? Because I know for a fact I've been eating dinner with Chanyeol for the past two weeks on Thursday night. What do you think that means, Kyungie?”

Chanyeol's heart beating a little faster, thankfully Kyungsoo doesn't react. But, he never meant to lie! Chanyeol always answers with a hum or shrug whenever Kyungsoo asked him about his dinner because he knows his boyfriend always cook for him and it'll be a waste to just throw it away. There's nothing wrong with appreciating your boyfriend's effort, right? Even if it means he'll go to sleep with full stomach - which is extremely uncomfortable because too much of anything is always bad for you - not that it has become a problem, maybe only once or twice. After a minute past without an answer from Kyungsoo though, he whispers murderously, “I think he fell asleep but Jongdae I swear to God—”

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo calls. “I'm too sleepy. Brain doesn't work. What does that mean?”

“That means I love you very much, baby.”

“Okay. Oh wait, that means you eat a lot, I'm glad. Do you cook?”

“No, we ordered chickens. Those two nights.”

“Is it from my work place?”

“Yeah, how are you so smart? Now sleep, let me deal with Jongdae's bullshit, I can handle it.”

“‘Kay, love you, Yeol.”

When Chanyeol finally looks up from the man of his dreams, Jongdae is staring at them, looking scandalized. “Kyungsoo, no! Wake up, it means he's lying to you! What in the world happened, Kyungsoo you're not on your right mind—”

“Chanyeol, can you hit Jongdae for me?”

“Of course, Soo.”

* * *

“Hey! Come here, Soo!”

He sighs, because of course Chanyeol have to stray away from what they really went here for, which is to look for a simple potted plant for Minseok - Jongdae’s brother - and his lover’s housewarming party. Kyungsoo cranes his neck, trying to find Chanyeol, and stalks him when Kyungsoo sees him wavings impatiently. 

“What is it?”

“Look at these mugs!”

Kyungsoo hums, the mugs look pretty and upon closer inspection, he realizes it’s a pair of couple mugs. “They’re actually really nice, should we get this for them?”

“What? No, I mean, let’s buy it for ourselves!” Chanyeol points repeatedly at the mugs and Kyungsoo can see his body vibrating with excitement. “It will be our first couple thing!”

“No way, we already have our own mugs, there’s no need to buy more, Yeol-ah.”

 _And you dyed my hair red just a couple months ago, called it a couple trend every waking moment to every single person who's unlucky enough to listen to it,_ he wants to add. But Kyungsoo bites his tongue, not really keen on admitting that it _was_ indeed a couple _thing._ So he ignores Chanyeol's distracting smile and glares at the innocent mugs instead.

“But these are _couple mugs!_ ”

“I know. I see that,” Kyungsoo patiently answers while checking the price tag. It’s not that expensive and he knows the cheesy lines written on it matches perfectly with Minseok’s taste. “This one is good, let's just take this. And lower your voice, would you?”

“For us?”

“For the gift.”

 

Kyungsoo pretends he doesn't see Chanyeol sulking and stomping his foot when he pays the mugs, as far as staring blankly at him when Kyungsoo asks his opinion on the wrapper motif. Chuckling fondly at Chanyeol’s antics, he ends up choosing the most pink and ugliest wrapper (half of it to spite the receiver) just to see Chanyeol cringe. He throws  Kyungsoo a dirty look before stomping outside the store. Kyungsoo could see his figure leaning on the glass wall and even from behind Kyungsoo _knows_ that Chanyeol is pouting grumpily. 

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo thanks the cashier and takes his change with a smile, ready to deal with his childish boyfriend (who's also a head taller than him). He's walking casually, exiting the store and beckoning Chanyeol to follow him. His left hand's deep in his left pocket, clutching another wrapped trinket. 

And Kyungsoo grins.

+++

Jongdae has been side eyeing his phone strap weirdly, like it might bite and infect him with a horrifying disease that can't be cured. Maybe it’s partly his fault because he’s been showing off the dark green and gray striped strap, but it’s his birthday present from Kyungsoo and it also has a black poodle on it, so no one can tell him otherwise. Chanyeol stares back, and before they part ways for different classes, Jongdae looks like he had gotten enough.

“I swear I’ve seen that strap somewhere,” Jongdae says, “Where did you buy it? It’s kinda cute, maybe I should get one.”

“No way, it’s from Kyungsoo. For your information, it’s my birthday present. Which you deliberately chose not to attend the party to and I wouldn't want to wear couple things with you—”

“Wait, Kyungsoo? _Oh._ Oh, of course.” Jongdae's eyes glint and he smirks at Chanyeol, like he knows something and has decided to keep silent so he can laugh later when Chanyeol makes a fool of himself out of it. “Well, yeah, anyway. I’m sorry I’d rather spend that crucial day with my long lost boyfriend whom I only get to see like once in a year because he applied for a freaking foreign exchange pro—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez, calm down.”

 

His answer for Jongdae weird behavior comes days later, at their usual bi-monthly cleaning. Chanyeol has just finished pushing the couch in their living room and now staring at the floor, wondering how every time they do this there’s _always_ not-belonging things stuck down there - like his guitar pick and Kyungsoo's missing toothbrush. 

He's still on staring contest with the things when Kyungsoo nudges him out of the way, one hand holding a vacuum. “Move.”

Chanyeol complies easily, mesmerized by how Kyungsoo eases himself in the staring contest - replacing him - his eyebrows furrow in distaste. “I’ll do the laundry?” He asks, motioning to their bedroom.

“Yeah, sure.” Kyungsoo nods distractedly, already kneeling on the floor and picking up his old toothbrush. “And Chanyeol? Could you pick my phone? It’s, um, I’m waiting for a call.”

“From who?”

A pause. “No one.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, my mom. Wait, let me rephrase that, I have to call my mom.” 

“Now? But we’re cleaning—”

“Just bring the damn phone here, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo cuts, biting his lips and puffing out an annoyed huff.

“Okay, okay.” He quickly scrambles to their bedroom, shouting back along the way, “It’s just so suspicious! You realize that, right?! You said you’re waiting for a call! But when I asked who you said no one! After that you quickly change your story, bringing up _your mom_ and shout—”

Chanyeol trails off because there, lying innocently in their bedside table is Kyungsoo’s sleek black phone. Except there's an equally innocent strap attached to it, the very same strap that Chanyeol’s phone has right now. For a second, Chanyeol doesn't know what to think. And the next thing he knows, he’s beaming, practically skipping to the living room and jumping on Kyungsoo, kissing him harder than he’d intended to that their teeth clashed painfully. 

“Ugh, careful, Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo punches his chest, trying to break free. 

But Chanyeol knows that tone too well, looks down and sees Kyungsoo's flushed cheeks and fond smile and _oh_ , Chanyeol is _so_ in love. “Wow,” He breathes out.

Kyungsoo laughs, clutching his shoulder for balance before it fades into a giggles. “I know, and I love you too,” he says before tiptoeing to kiss him back. 

Chanyeol meets him halfway, and this time their kiss is soft, lingering, like they're trying to savor everything. It’s okay, though. They have all the time in the world.

 

(“How did you know?” Chanyeol asks Jongdae the second he enters the class.

“Oh, I see that you’ve finally caught up with us, the geniuses.”

“No, but really, Jongdae.”

“You're so slow sometimes it's nauseating. Kyungsoo’s been flaunting that thing,” Jongdae scrunches his face like it has offended him in some way, “He literally waves it in front of my face, and every single person’s faces he’s met the last couple of days and yet you, didn’t even notice a thing. What a power couple.”

“We are,” he answers automatically, before realizing it might have been an insult, coming from Jongdae.

“Yeah, so, Kyungsoo been asking me why you haven’t noticed, because you know, if you have, you’d be flaunting it too, more than you already have. And I said, _‘Kyungsoo, why don't you wave it in front of his face like what you did with us?’_ I meant it as an insult, just so you know, but Kyungsoo looked like he was really considering that option and here we are! Having this conversation. Wow, amazing yeah?”

“I could kiss you right now.”

“Gee, thanks. But, _no_.”

“I’ll just find Kyungsoo then, kiss him extra hard and—”

“Eeww. Gross. Please for the love of the God can we _please_ stop this conversation right now. Immediately.”

“Wow, did you know I love Kyungsoo? I think I love him more and more everyday—”

“Ugh, it's too early for this shit. Where’s my boyfriend?!”

“He'll be back in two months, Dae. In the meantime, you could join Kyungsoo and—”

“No. I hear _nothing._ ”

“That's not what I meant!”)

* * *

"We're canceling the camping trip." He says, voice stern and leaving no room for debate. "I'm calling Baekhyun now."

“Well, shit.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, leaving the room with the phone already on call and rummaging the medicine kit for something that wasn't expired. He could faintly hear Chanyeol trying to quell his coughing that it comes out like he's more sick than he actually is. 

_“Well, well, look who has time to finally call me first!”_ Baekhyun's greeting comes with a high cackle. _“What's your business with a lowlife like me, huh?”_

Ignoring Baekhyun's joke, Kyungsoo cuts right to the chase, “We're canceling the trip. Chanyeol and I.”

_“What? Why?! No you can't, I spent last week bribing Chanyeol and trying to convince him to convince you to come so I could convince my better half to drag his ass along so we could kiss at the bonfire—”_

“Chanyeol caught a fever and he's been coughing non stop—”

_“So what? Just ditch him or are you saying you pick Chanyeol over me? Your best friend?”_

“Baekhyun, Chanyeol is my boyfriend,” he deadpans.

_“Yeah? What's your point man.”_

“And your friend,” Kyungsoo says. He continues this thought, emphasizing  how Baekhyun is - technically - not his best friend. He stops when he notices Chanyeol peeking from their bedroom, looking like a giant burrito.

“I give up. Just cancel the camping trip, I think I'm _dying_ ,” Chanyeol moans before the coughing fits start again.

“That's my cue to end this stupid conversation,” he informs Baekhyun over the phone.

Baekhyun huffs. _“Whatever, I'm telling Jongdae this, you're so whipped. Don't come crying to me for your relationship problems either,”_ Baekhyun says, then pauses, _“Tell Chanyeol he better get well soon cause I'll kick his ass when I come back from the trip.”_

“Baekhyun said he'll come to kick your ass,” Kyungsoo stage whispers, chuckling to himself.

“Tell Baekhyun he's too short to reach my ass,” Chanyeol grumbles back. Kyungsoo watches him getting comfortable in the sofa, playing with his phone strap and cooing at the dog’s picture before yawning and rubbing his eyes furiously. 

“Hear that, Baek? He said you're too short to reach his ass. Besides, Chanyeol's ass is mine.” He smirks and ends the call when Baekhyun shrieks indignantly, _‘I'm not that short you fucker, you're even shorter than me—’_

Chanyeol’s coughs don’t stop even after he falls asleep. Kyungsoo keeps caressing his hair, humming a little when Chanyeol lets out a pitiful whine and changes his clothes whenever it's getting too wet, drenched in Chanyeol's sweat. And when Kyungsoo stands up to use his phone, informing the owner of the shop of his absence, Chanyeol starts to tug at his shirt.

Blinking sleepily at him, Chanyeol opens his mouth, voice hoarse, “Your part-time job?”

“I'm going to calling in sick.” Kyungsoo sits back at the edge of the bed. “Your throat sore?”

Chanyeol nods.

“I'll get you some warm water—”

“Can I get a kiss?”

Kyungsoo could never resist Chanyeol’s kisses and hugs before but being the rational person that he is, Kyungsoo knows he can't afford to get sick too. So he gulps and avoids Chanyeol's pleading eyes, let out a squeaky, “No,” and runs for his life.

++++

Coming home late, Chanyeol expects Kyungsoo to already be asleep. Curling in their blanket on his side of the bed, warm food left for him in the kitchen table. Except the lights are off and Kyungsoo isn't on their bed. There's a rumbling sound coming from the bathroom, so Chanyeol peeks inside. It's dark with only lights coming from the flashlight in the sink, but when his eyes adjust to the darkness he can make out Kyungsoo's figure.

"Kyungsoo!" He screams, forcing Kyungsoo to turn around, startled. "I told you to leave that alone, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but it feels weird. I showered with lights from our bedroom so I have to keep the door open, right?" Kyungsoo pauses. "I feel like someone's watching me."

"You're making that up." Chanyeol pouts. "Get down here. It's not safe. Let me be the one to change the light bulb, okay?"

"Okay."

The ceiling isn't that high so Chanyeol doesn't need any stepladder or chair to reach it. When he finishes, Kyungsoo is still watching him by the door frame. "Turn the power on," Chanyeol says.

Kyungsoo nods and steal a kiss from him before he saunters away, letting the bedroom door open when he leaves the room. After a few second all the lights turn on with a click and Chanyeol has to blink at the sudden exposure. Now that he's been in the bathroom, he decides he needs to take a much needed shower anyway. So he closes the door and takes off his shirt. 

"Chanyeol! What do you want for dinner?!"

"Whatever you make, Soo! I'm taking a shower first!"

The water relaxes him and in no time he's already toweling off, staling to the kitchen with damp hair. Kyungsoo's typing in his phone but he looks up when he hears Chanyeol’s coughs. His expressions turns sour immediately and his hand raised to beckon Chanyeol to come closer. Chanyeol obeys without a fuss and Kyungsoo takes his towel, drying his hair softly. 

"It's late, you shouldn't wash your hair this late."

"I used the warm water," Chanyeol defends, hums a little when Kyungsoo kisses the crown of his head.

"Yeah. But you just get better. We wouldn't want you to get sick again now, would we?"

He's pouting now, and he knows Kyungsoo can tell. "Yeah. I wouldn’t want to miss another camping trip."

Kyungsoo flicks him in the forehead.

"Ouch!"

"You hold such a grudge, what a baby."

"I'm your baby though."

"Anyway," Kyungsoo digresses. "You have free time tomorrow evening?"

“Huh?" He blinks confusedly at the sudden statement. "Yeah, why?"

"I’ve traded my shift with Joohyun. So, I was wondering if maybe we could—"

"Camp?!"

"No. We're busy. I already took my sick leave when you were sick and I can’t afford to lose my job."

Chanyeol's enthusiasm deflates completely and he doesn’t bother to hide it. "Oh."

"Um. Yeah, but maybe? I'm thinking about picnic, how does that sound? Now that you're healthy and kicking again. Only if you want to of course."

That sounds amazing. So Chanyeol takes the towel from Kyungsoo's hand and puts it on Kyungsoo's neck, pulls him in for a kiss. It's terrible and Chanyeol might have used too much force than needed because their teeth clash and it freaking hurts. Kyungsoo groans in agony and Chanyeol can feel his mouth throbbing but he's happy and it's actually kind of funny so he ends up clutching Kyungsoo's shoulder while he's laughing like a maniac. 

"The movies are the biggest liar ever," he declares, still laughing. 

Kyungsoo pinches his arm. "I think you broke my teeth."

 

"Hey."

He grunts but it is soon replaced by a hum when Kyungsoo kisses him. His boyfriend has taken a liking to kissing him whenever he could, lately. Even their friends seem to notice this; Kyungsoo will kiss him when they take a walk home together from class or when Chanyeol brushes past him to steal Jongdae's worm gummy, once even when Chanyeol's in the middle of laughing his ass off. He's not complaining though, and he makes sure Kyungsoo knows that and deepens their kiss, craning his neck a little to bite Kyungsoo's lower lip before retreating back to his original spot because his neck starts to hurt from the uncomfortable position. 

"Good?"

Chanyeol opens his eyes, staring straight at Kyungsoo's flushed face from his spot on Kyungsoo's lap. He shifts a little before reaching for Kyungsoo's forehead to swipe his bang, a little smile playing on his lips. "Yup," he says, makes a popping sound to get a smile out of Kyungsoo. 

“Alright.”

But Kyungsoo's tone sounds weird. Rubbing Kyungsoo's arm, Chanyeol mumbles, “What is it?”

“Hm? Nothing.”

Chanyeol frowns. "If this is about the camping trip, you know that I don't care, right? I mean, I do care. But only because that's our only chance to.. stare at mother nature? I don't know, anyway, Baekhyun swears it helps, like some kind of healing or shit and I though, oh Kyungsoo needs it, we should go together. And the timing was so perfect I can't believe I messed everything up when I caught that stupid cold."

Kyungsoo's mouth twitches. “I'm kinda thankful you got sick just hours before we left or it would’ve been a pain in the ass nursing you at the camping site.”

"Huh. Anyway, this is good too. I don't know why I didn't think about it earlier. We have food and we can't hear the other guys bickering or telling us to get a room. See? I've been laying on your comfortable thick thighs for.. I don't know, an hour?"

"Half an hour."

"Yeah, and no one ever said anything about that! The weather's nice and the sunlight compliment your skin perfectly — you look like a Greek God by the way.” Kyungsoo slaps his arm and snort. “This is super good, awesome. We should totally add picnic on our hanging out list, not that I don't like our cuddling and binge watching session—"

"Chanyeol."

"Yeah?"

"Stop it. I get it."

"Okay. Love you." Glancing at Kyungsoo's face, Chanyeol adds timidly, “Can I get some more kisses?”

“A kiss.”

Kyungsoo pecks him on the lips quickly and pats his head twice, smiling softly and Chanyeol can't help but gape at the gesture. Scandalized, he sits up, cradling Kyungsoo's face within his hands. “What happened to you? Are you sick? You just exceeded your kiss quota today and usually you would never show PDA in public.”

“Oh shut up already.” Kyungsoo blushes. “You might get another if you do.”

“Another kiss?”

“Kiss _es_ ”

Chanyeol shuts his mouth obediently.

* * *

Kyungsoo can feel the stare, calculating his every moves, he keeps quiet. Chanyeol has been jittery all week and Kyungsoo knows better. He never pushes, knowing that Chanyeol will come around when he’s ready. It looks like tonight is the night, judging by the way Chanyeol washes the dishes with abandon, frown a little deeper than usual that he looks like he's scowling. 

“Soo? Thanks for dinner, it’s great as always.”

He hums. “Sure, want to watch something together?”

“Actually,” Chanyeol begins, licking his lips nervously. “I have to tell you something.”

“Did you forget to paid the rent?”

“What? No, I did that yesterday. The lady told me to come over for some cookies.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll bring mom’s kimchi to share.” He shifts, looking straight at Chanyeol, showing him that he gets all of Kyungsoo's attention. “What is it then?

Chanyeol averts his eyes nervously. “It's— I.. got a job.”

“Oh? Really?!” Kyungsoo jumps from the couch to hug Chanyeol. “That’s great Chanyeol!”

“Wait, I mean, no, no, no. It’s still an offer, I haven't accepted it. Yet.” Chanyeol amends. “It's just, I’m still thinking about it and I thought I should talk it out with you.”

He looks even more nervous than before and Kyungsoo suddenly knows that whatever this is, it’s nothing good. This is not their usual we need to talk, _‘please for the love of God put the wet towel in the basket’_ or _‘i told you to turn off the lights now the electricity bill is high as fuck'._

“The offer,” Chanyeol starts, “It’s not in the town.”

“Another city?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol pauses, “Melbourne.”

Oh. It’s in another freaking country. Kyungsoo stands up and wobbles to their bedroom without a word. He can feel Chanyeol hot in his heels but he doesn't know what to say, what to think. They just sit silently at the bed without saying anything and Kyungsoo tries to get his thoughts together.

It feels like hours before Kyungsoo finally breaks the silence. “Melbourne?”

“Yeah, it's this city in Australia—”

“Chanyeol. I know where Melbourne is.”

Chanyeol stares. 

“You want to go.”

It’s a statement that Kyungsoo needs no answer for. He can see it written clearly on Chanyeol's face, his eyes, and his gestures. But Chanyeol still provides an answer, voice raspy, “Yes. But it wouldn’t feel right if I didn't tell you beforehand, so I said I'll think about it and they told me that's fine. I'm sorry I just told you now, I have to think about it some more before—”

“Hey, it’s okay. You don't have to explain your reasons to me.”

Chanyeol hugs him. “Of course I have to. You’re my boyfriend.” He pauses before kissing Kyungsoo’s temple softly, “You know I love you, right?”

Kyungsoo hums. He also knows that this is everything that Chanyeol has ever wanted. So he hugs him back tightly, trying to commit this to memory. The way Chanyeol's hand is splayed on his back rubbing it softly, warm and confident, already ingrained in his muscle memory after the countless times they’ve done this. The way he smells like vanilla and mint with a little hint of sandalwood because Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol likes to steal his perfume whenever he got a chance and Kyungsoo pretends he never knew. He wants to record all of this: because maybe, Kyungsoo won’t get another chance to feel this ever again.

“It’s a good opportunity for me, Kyungsoo, one that might never come again. They're a big company and they want _me_. Of course I still have time, until the end of this month, to think again about all of this. Because if I accept it that means I have to leave everything I know here and I have to leave right after graduation ceremo—”

“You should go for it,” Kyungsoo whispers, hiding his face between Chanyeol's neck. “Call them before they found someone else.”

"I have to answer them, whether to accept or reject their offer, but Kyungsoo, what about us? That’s the real question here, where does it makes us stand, Soo? Does this mean we're breaking up? Or—”

Kyungsoo can’t take it, letting out an ugly cry that interrupts Chanyeol’s sentence

“Oh no, Soo? Hey, baby, don't cry,” Chanyeol whimpers, “Shhh, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said it like that—”

“No, no, no. It’s okay, I just— Let me think. I’m going to sleep on it and we can continue this conversation tomorrow. Okay?”

When Kyungsoo turns to look at Chanyeol, he looks like he want to say something but hold his mouth shut. Chanyeol nods, wiping Kyungsoo's tears even though it's not stopping anytime soon. “Yeah, cool. Should I sleep on the couch?”

That brings a smile from him, a little sad around the edges but a smile nonetheless. “No need, Yeol-ah.”

That night Kyungsoo thinks and thinks. He wonders, his thought full of possibilities, of what if’s and maybe’s. He’s facing the wall, his back to Chanyeol's side and he senses Chanyeol's uncertainty, how his hand hovers above Kyungsoo's waist before he thinks better of it and let out a deep troubled sighs. Kyungsoo thinks about their future and when sleep finally greets him he’s restless and cold. Briefly he wonders if every night will feel like this if, _when,_ Chanyeol leaves.

 

The morning feels different that Kyungsoo closes his eyes again. Yesterday they still shared lazy kisses, whispering good morning's to each other but now it feels stilled, strung out, like the clock finally stopped ticking and every unfortunate thing possible will happen. Kyungsoo badly wants to say something, _‘please don't go’_ or a simple _‘i love you’_ but when he turns to face Chanyeol, everything is stuck in his throat. 

Chanyeol stares at him, smiling a little. “Will you—” he gulps, voice trembling with resignation and hope, “Will you come with me?”

Kyungsoo hugs him close. “You know I can't.”

“You can continue your grad school there, I'm sure Melbourne has plenty of universities that—”

“Can we not— let's talk about this later?”

“I.. okay, Soo.”

+————

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo calls him from his spot on the floor.

Recognizing the serious tone, he quickly scrambles to join Kyungsoo, sitting Indian style in front of the smaller man. Kyungsoo stares at him for the longest time before he sighs, moving to straddle Chanyeol and resting his head into the crook of Chanyeol's neck. Frowning, Chanyeol holds Kyungsoo’s waist and rocks their bodies together, waiting for what Kyungsoo wants to say.

Chanyeol's heart breaks when Kyungsoo whispers brokenly, “Let's break up.”

“ _What?_ ” He pauses, trying to process their situation and racking his brain, wondering if he’d read a book that talked about this situation and how to handle it. Or perhaps this is just a bad prank, though it wasn't funny even in the slightest. After he told Kyungsoo about the job offer, his boyfriend had been acting distant and they never really talked about it. Chanyeol never said anything partly because he was scared of what Kyungsoo’s answer would be and partly because he was waiting for Kyungsoo to making up his mind first. 

“Let's break up,” Kyungsoo repeats, and the second time doesn't sound any more convincing than the first.

“Wait, Soo, baby, no, no.” Chanyeol struggles, trying to unlatch Kyungsoo’s hug and stare at his eyes. “I can stay, you know I could always stay. This isn't final, or even if I go we could make it works. Right? Baby, look at me.”

“No, Chanyeol, it’s your dream. It’s everything you deserve and more, I can't be the one who holds you back.” Kyungsoo sniffles. “If someone asks,” Kyungsoo's voice pipes again, trembling and small, “tell them I broke up with you because I’m an idiot who doesn't—”

“If you ask, I swear, I’ll stay with you. Kyungsoo? Do you hear me? Ask me, Soo, and I’ll stay.”

“I’m sorry Chanyeol, ” Kyungsoo cries out, sobbing his words and clutching tightly at Chanyeol's shirt. “It doesn't work like that.”

“But we can make it work. It doesn't have to end like this. Why are you so stubborn? I'm not leaving _you_ , so why are you so hell-bent on breaking up with me? Long distance relationships are not uncommon, we could still—”

“I don't want to.”

Chanyeol stares at Kyungsoo's tuft of hair and hopes he heard that wrong, that everything they’ve had all these years isn’t coming down to _this_ , whatever this is. He was scared when he told Kyungsoo, sure, because he didn’t know how Kyungsoo was going to react. But this isn't how this is supposed to go.

“You.. don't want to?”

Dazed, breathless. He knows what the answer will be. He knows, from the way Kyungsoo raises his head, looking like a mess with his puffy eyes and red snotty nose. From the determined looks on Kyungsoo’s eyes, Chanyeol just knows that it’s over.

“No.”

“Kyungsoo, what do you mean?” Chanyeol whines and he could feel his own tears brimming, ready to fall at any second. “Don't be like this please. I'm not leaving you.”

“It’s too much hassle.” Kyungsoo clutches harder at his arm. “If you don't leave I'll still breaking up with you so it's no use for you to be here and— just, leave.”

Kyungsoo always compromising with his silly and weird wishes but the outright _‘no’_ he gets this time told is with Kyungsoo's wavering voice and streaming tears. Kyungsoo holds him tighter when he told Chanyeol to leave and Chanyeol doesn't know if he should believe his words or fight a little more for his contradicting gestures. 

In the end, he does nothing but cry and hold Kyungsoo closer to his embrace.

* * *

“You're so stupid sometimes.”

Kyungsoo hardly comes to Baekhyun for advice because usually, Baekhyun's the one with a hundred and one problems. But Kyungsoo also knows that whenever he feels troubled Baekhyun is always there to cheer him up and give a cheeky idea or two. Right now though, Baekhyun's not quite sure he could cheer his best friend up. Kyungsoo looks like his world has just collapsed, staring into his phone’s lock screen with Chanyeol's grinning picture on it.

For a moment Baekhyun thinks Kyungsoo doesn't heard his insult but eventually he replies, “Baekhyun, please shut up. You're officially not my best friend.”

Baekhyun knows it's Kyungsoo's way of reaching out for help so he keeps going. “Chanyeol left in tears you know? He's searching for you even at the last minute, asking us if we know where you are. If you're really not coming at all.”

“I can't watch him leave, it hurts.” 

“Then why are you letting him go, you idiot.”

“I have to. I feel— Baekhyun, Chanyeol and I, we're highschool sweethearts.”

“I know, _I was there_. And even after all these years you're still acting all gross with each other.”

“Yeah. And I think, we're still young you know? But I've planned my future and not a single thing I thought without Chanyeol somehow involved in it. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with him. It's scary but, what if Chanyeol doesn't feels the same way? This offer he gets, it only serves to remind me about the reality.”

“Kyungsoo, I don’t understand and I don't think I will.”

“No, Baekhyun, listen. What if Chanyeol stays with me because of the familiarity? We've been each other's for so long, that being in each other's presence feels like breathing now, it's like a habit. What if he doesn't know what _he_ wants?” Kyungsoo bites his nails, frowning. “So I let him go. He'll meet new people, lots of them, without me because I'll be here working my ass off on my grad school. He'll be working and maturing _without me_ , because you know, his life wasn't supposed to be revolved around _me_ —”

“Kyungsoo, what are you trying to say?”

“I just, I want him to see the world outside of my clutches, Baek,” Kyungsoo says. “I don't want to tied him with me so soon because what if one day he realizes I'm not what he want after all?”

Baekhyun nods, telling him to continue.

“He could decide for himself without thinking about _my needs_ first now, living his life or something like that. He could go out partying with his friends all night because I won't be waiting for him, falling asleep in the living room. He could buy all those Supreme hoodies he's been eying without thinking about saving up for _us_ because _I_ have been wanting to move out from our expensively trashy apartment since forever. I don't know, I'm so confused. It's only for two years and after that, if he'll let me back into his life—”

“You're crying.”

Kyungsoo doesn't even seem to realize that he's crying before Baekhyun points it out and wipes his cheeks with a frown, though it only makes the tears fall faster. “It should be for the best but I feel so sad. Baekhyun, help me.”

“It's okay to feel sad, Kyungsoo. I don't think you're doing the right thing by letting Chanyeol go just like this. The one who knows what he wants is Chanyeol himself and you can't just assume things like that. You should talk it out with him instead pushing him away and see what happens afterward.” Baekhyun pauses. “But I'm your best friend and just know that I got your back no matter what.”

Kyungsoo looks up, red puffy eyes and ugly snot making his face scrunched up weirdly. Baekhyun never likes Kyungsoo's crying face but he sighs, smiling wistfully and grabs the tissues. “Come here buddy.”

“Thanks Baek, you're officially my best friend now,” Kyungsoo sniffles.

Baekhyun only pats Kyungsoo's cheeks a little hard to let him know he doesn't appreciate the joke - he's Kyungsoo's best friend _just now?_ Even Chanyeol knows better. Speaking of him, Baekhyun wonders about giant softy number two, he should check on Chanyeol too later, huh, what a busy day. Maybe making friends with too much softy isn't a good decision on Baekhyun's part.

* * *

_**Idiot** _  
_]Kyungsoo?_  
_]hey I just landed?? still on the airport_  
_]pick up your phone please._  
_Aug, 12th · 03.43 p.m._

_**Soo~** _  
_]Just for two years._  
_Aug, 12th · 03.57 p.m._

_**Idiot** _  
_]what do you mean?_  
_]Kyungsoo pick up your phone._  
_]i thought we agreed to stay friends?_  
_]baby please don't do this._  
_Aug, 12th · 03.59 p.m._

_**Soo~** _  
_]Don't contact me again._  
_Aug, 12th · 04.32 p.m._

_**Idiot** _  
_]i love you. don't you love me Soo?_  
_Aug, 12th · 04.46 p.m._

* * *

The transition from friends to lovers was easy, Chanyeol never thought it was going to be like walking in a park, but it was. Chanyeol first met Kyungsoo in highschool and immediately had taken a liking to the small and reserved boy. They always held hands, hugged and cuddled, sharing secrets and fears if they weren’t singing their hearts out to Disney songs. When Chanyeol casually asked him out over dinner on their second year, he just knew Kyungsoo would say yes, and he did.

They kept to their routines, but with lots of stolen kisses and pecks in front of public eyes, along with lots of private make-out sessions between their breaks. And Chanyeol could not stop grinning whenever Kyungsoo introduced him as his boyfriend. It only got better in university. When Kyungsoo asked if he’d like to live together, Chanyeol never said _‘yes’_ faster in his life than he did at that moment.

 

_“The number you're calling is unattended, please try again..”_

 

The transition from lovers to friends feels like hell. Chanyeol thought it’d get easier with time, that the pain would dulled and everything would get better. But every second, every passing moment he spent awake, the pain lingers. Flaring, burning, a constant reminder of what he lost. The lack of contact with Kyungsoo only makes it worse. Kyungsoo never replies to Chanyeol’s message nor does he answer Chanyeol’s calls. Because of this, Chanyeol starts to believe he'd lose Kyungsoo forever if it's not for the last message Kyungsoo sent him right after he landed in Melbourne.

He still knows what Kyungsoo is up to, how his class schedule and part time job clashes so he has to take the night shifts and come home late. How Kyungsoo found someone to share their flat with, a sweet dancer guy who looks like a puppy that Chanyeol despises just because he can share the same space as Kyungsoo’s. His mother even informs him when Kyungsoo comes to visit with a box of cake on her birthday and Jongdae calls him when they meet up for a cup of bubble tea.

 

Chanyeol sighs, staring at his chat’s history with Kyungsoo before calling out his number again, staring at the crowd for a familiar figure. The little box in his pocket feels heavier with every passing second.

_**Soo~** _  
_]I’m visiting Melbourne on the 14th, think you can pick me up?_  
_Sept, 2nd · 07.21 p.m._

++———

Gripping his backpack tightly, Kyungsoo takes a deep breath and exits the plane with jittery feelings. After the radio silent on his part, he never thought Chanyeol will agree to meet up with him and with eager manner nonetheless, if his exclamation marks answer on their chat is anything to go by. Chanyeol has been trying to call him, the second he sent his first message after this two years but Kyungsoo wasn't ready to hear Chanyeol voice just yet so his second message was a stupid, _‘I'm busy. Just text me if you're free or not.’_

Turning on his phone, he opens their chat just to see Chanyeol's answer for the umpteenth time.

_**Idiot** _  
_]hi Kyungsoo!! it's good yes! i'm totally free!! How are you?? what time should I pick you up?!_  
_]snd you could stay at my place!!_  
_]if you want to of course^_  
_]and*_  
_Sept, 2nd · 07.34 p.m._

He’s typing his location and say that he already landed, but Kyungsoo doesn't get the chance to send them before his phone blinks alive with Chanyeol's name on it. Biting his lower lip, Kyungsoo sighs and answers the call. 

“..Hello?”

“Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol's voice sounds deeper than he remembers and suddenly Kyungsoo doesn't think this is a good decision after all. “Hey, I can see you, is that my hat you're wearing?”

Blushing, Kyungsoo looks around, trying to find Chanyeol in the crowd of people. “Um.. No. Where are you?” He asks, voice cracking a little because Chanyeol sounds at ease, like finally talking with Kyungsoo after these two years of no communication is not a big deal at all. What if he's late? He shouldn't have let Chanyeol go, what if he already has—

“Turn to your right.”

Kyungsoo blinks. Chanyeol's voice sounds so much closer and when he does turn, _oh._ There Chanyeol is. Smiling at him with the same smile he used to give Kyungsoo every day, as if he's the most precious person in the world. There Chanyeol is. Kneeling right in front of him, a little box opened on his hand with a silver ring on it. Eyes staring at Kyungsoo, shining with love, determination and adoration not caring about anything else except him. Kyungsoo knows what his next word will be and he's pretty sure Chanyeol knows what his answer must be. Kyungsoo's heart sings, soars and he smiles. 

Chanyeol's smile widens, grinning back at him. “Will you marry me?”

_“Yes.”_ Kyungsoo bites his trembling lip, smiling. “Yes, I'll marry you.” 

 

“Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo clears his throat, wondering if Chanyeol could hear the distressed tone on his voice. “Um, what are you doing?”

Looking at the view in front of him, not that Kyungsoo complaining though, but this day has been really weird. After Chanyeol lets him inside of his current apartment and show him around, he's just start unbuttoning his shirt out of nowhere. Licking his lips, Kyungsoo can't help but stare at Chanyeol's body - his abs are gone, replaced by a soft tummy that Kyungsoo would like to lay his hands on. It must be the product of his lazy lifestyle, with no Kyungsoo to nag him to exercise and cook for him, Chanyeol must have survived with only junk food.

Shaking his head, Kyungsoo quickly grabs Chanyeol's hand after he already threw his shirt and now trying to open his jeans. “Chanyeol stop, what are you doing?”

“Oh.” Chanyeol halts his movement, belt half unbuckled. “I thought we're going to do it?”

“Do what?”

“The infamous make-up sex? We might be two years late but who cares, right? Or we could make love to each other, I don't know, as a celebratory now that we're engaged?”

“ _What?_ ”

“I mean it's okay if you don't want to. You must be tired from the early flight. Wait,” Chanyeol pauses, tilting his head a little. “We're engaged, right? To each other?”

“Yes.. but, Chanyeol, aren't you mad at me?”

“Am I? Why?”

“Oh, I don't know. I still even don't get why you proposed to me first thing after we meet. Honestly I feel like this is only a dream and I’m about to wake up at any moment.” Kyungsoo sighs, picking up Chanyeol's gray hoodie from his wardrobe and throwing it at the taller male's face. “You're asking why you should be mad at me? Maybe because of how I treated you these past two years? Because I was basically ignoring your existence without any explanation? Don't you want some?”

“What?”

“Explanation.”

“Oh actually, about that, hmm. I don’t know if I should say this or not but a while back - to be specific, days after I got here - I kinda cried my heart out to Jongdae? And after my breakdown, Jongdae told me something that Baekhyun told him that you told him not to tell me.”

“Those are not real words.”

“Ugh, how can I say this but basically, you said something to Baekhyun and told him not to tell me, so Baekhyun told Jongdae but Jongdae kinda let me in on the secret something? They made me swear on my heart not to say anything to you.”

As the realization comes down on him, Kyungsoo can't help but curse and groan in despair. “I'm going to kill Baekhyun.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Chanyeol starts, staring with a hopeful eyes at him and looking small on his gray hoodie. “This isn't a dream. And I'm all yours, if you still want me.”

“Idiot. That should be my line.”

“Is that a—”

“Chanyeol, I said yes to your proposal, what do you think that means?”

“Yes?”

“Good job, now come here and kiss me.”

+++——

“I can't believe you told him _everything!”_

Baekhyun scrunches his nose, looking extremely offended. “It wasn't my idea! Jongdae told me to—”

“You told _Jongdae?_ And you listened to him of all people?” Kyungsoo glances to the sleeping figure beside him before he hisses, “I can't believe you told Chanyeol everything, Baekhyun you little fucking shit! To think he knew everything, _all this time!”_

“Jongdae claimed that he was Chanyeol's best friend and he demanded to know everything. It's kinda our duty to make sure you two stay together, okay?” Pausing, Baekhyun squinting his eyes to look closely at Kyungsoo's figure on his phone screen. “Hey, is that..? Wait, Chanyeol proposed?!”

“..Yes.”

“Oh my god! Jongdae! Come here you have to see this by yourself! I can't believe— I don't care! Just come here it's not like I haven't seen your dick!” Baekhyun turns his attention back to Kyungsoo. “Jongdae is showering. Alright where were we? Oh, and you have the guts to get mad at us? You piece of shit, if we didn't tell him everything, Chanyeol would be married to a blonde girl and he probably would have twenty three children right now for all I care! Now tell me all the juicy details quick, have you two even fucked yet?! When’s the wedding? I assume you paid for my ticket since—”

“Whatever. You're not invited to the wedding. Jongdae too. You guys are in the blacklist. And you're officially _not_ my best—”

“Kyungsoo? What are you doing? It's too early, come back to bed,” Chanyeol whines, effectively makes Kyungsoo and Baekhyun's conversation stilled. “And tell Baekhyun to shut up please?”

“Sure babe. Baekhyun, shut up.”

“Holy fuck! I didn't see anything, Jongdae did you see that?! They're so cute—”

++++—

_"Roses are red_  
 _Violets are blue_  
 _I love Do Kyungsoo_  
 _Kyungsoo loves me too."_

"That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard today." Kyungsoo's voice comes from the living room, startling him. "It doesn't even rhyme."

Chanyeol pouts. 

"You must look stupid right now, I wish I could take a picture."

"It's stupid anyway. It's not my fault that I love Do Kyungsoo doesn't rhyme with red roses." He pauses, then exclaims, "Love you too!"

It gets a little chuckle from Kyungsoo but Chanyeol knows Kyungsoo won't join him in their bedroom yet until he finishes cooking their dinner. He sighs. When he applied to study music he thought he'd get to play instruments all day long, not.. this. Working 9 to 5 like every other person and struggling to even come up with a decent lyrics. He's been staring at his messy handwriting on the paper for at least half an hour. It's not fun and Chanyeol can't pretend he'll get a streak of inspiration if he waits for another second so he lays back on the bed, sprawled like a starfish. 

_"Roses are red_  
_Violets are blue_  
_Let's get a pet_  
_..And call it our Boo!"_

Kyungsoo walks inside that time, snickering. 

"Life's hard, Soo." Chanyeol complains. "I don't want to call him Boo but I can't come up with another name that rhymes with blue."

"You'll figure it out, eventually.” Kyungsoo kisses his forehead before caressing his cheek softly. “The actual lyrics, I mean. And besides, you're allergic."

"Huh, thank you for telling me. I know that _now_."

"Seriously though, I thought we're finished with this topic."

"That's just you," he answers childishly, along with a pout. 

He's been trying to adopt a pet - specifically a dog - since.. forever. Kyungsoo never addressed the issue seriously until he did, made Chanyeol sits with him and says that they _absolutely_ can't and ends the discussion with a distracting kiss. Chanyeol has been at the end of that kind of kiss so many times, he wonders how he keep getting distracted.

But Yixing, his co-worker, has been posting cute photos of him, his boyfriend _and_ their very cute dog called Ace on his Instagram and suddenly Chanyeol feels envious. He wants a pet too! Just because he's allergic, doesn't mean he can't have a pet. 

One time, he even accidentally clicked like on one of the posts after glaring at it with jealousy. He contemplated about unliking it but wonders if Yixing would notice and get sad because of it. In the end he just left it be and smiled back when Yixing greeted him with a joyful smile. After all, Yixing is a kind soul who doesn't deserve to be hated just because he has a boyfriend who has a pet and wants the world to know this by flaunting it on his public Instagram account. 

"Kyungsoo?"

"Yeah?"

He smiles back at Kyungsoo's imploring expression. 

"Can we have a pet?"

"No."

 _Great._ "I hate you."

Kyungsoo only laughs, moving to take Chanyeol's hand and drags him up. "Come on, dinner's ready."

"Good, I'm hungry." He grumbles. "But I still hate you."

"Ouch. I thought you loved me."

Chanyeol makes a mistake to look down, right at Kyungsoo's face. It's a rare moment when Kyungsoo's does something cute out of his own will and when he does, Chanyeol dies. Like this: he's staring at Chanyeol with puppy eyes, nose scrunching cutely and pouting excessively when he knows he gets Chanyeol's undivided attention. 

Chanyeol groans. "Not fair!" And goes to kiss the smugness out of Kyungsoo's smirking face. 

The ring on Kyungsoo's finger feels cold when he grabs him closer to deepen their kiss and Chanyeol's mind wanders briefly to their couple phone strap with the cute black poodle - which Kyungsoo named Mukmol and Hoochu - in it. Chanyeol staggers back, lying on his back atop the mattress with Kyungsoo hovering above him, taking all his breath away with his kisses. Chanyeol thinks, then, that he can quit acting like he needs more than what he’s got now because this--Kyungsoo warm and happy in his arms, is perfect—

“Okay, let's stop now.” 

“Huh?” Kyungsoo pats his cheeks twice before taking a step back, moving away from Chanyeol's grabby hands. “Why— what just happened.” Chanyeol splutters, blinking dazedly and a little disorientated.

Scrunching his nose, Kyungsoo smiles innocently. “I'm hungry.”

Okay, so maybe it's not perfect because while Chanyeol is hungry too, he has never strongly disagreed with Kyungsoo more than he has at this moment. He prefers kissing Kyungsoo more and he wouldn't mind if they missed dinner because of it. Though at the same time, his stomach decides to grumble and along with Kyungsoo's chuckle, he's forced to rethink his train of thought.

“Actually, I'm starving too,” Chanyeol admits. “To be continued.”

Who cares anyway if it's not perfect? Definitely not Chanyeol. And if he understands Kyungsoo's wide smile and amused laugh enough, it means that Kyungsoo doesn't care too. Taking Kyungsoo's smaller hand in his, Chanyeol grins and leads Kyungsoo out from their bedroom.

“I cooked your favorite,” Kyungsoo quips. “For my most favorite person in the world.”

Chanyeol smirks, flicks Kyungsoo's forehead in jest before leaving a small peck at the corner of his lips. “Why, thank you, _husband._ ”

+++++

“Yeah, please. I do.”

Kyungsoo can't help but scoff because of Chanyeol's eager answer, even the officiant seems amused, clearing his throat with a hint of smile before addressing Kyungsoo with a nod. Kyungsoo nods back, licking his lips nervously. 

“And Kyungsoo Do, do you take Chanyeol Park to love and to cherish, to honor and comfort, in sickness and in health, in sorrow or in joy, in hardship or ease, to have and to hold from this day forth? Will you give them love and respect, and share with them the wisdom or your experience? Will you conduct yourself in such a way as to encourage them to face their own lives with self-confidence and love for others?”

_“I do.”_

“It is at this time that I now pronounce you husband and husband.”

Kyungsoo stares at Chanyeol's glistening eyes and wonders if he's smiling as wide as Chanyeol because his jaw feels kinda numb. He holds back his giggles, amazed by his mood swing, and hopes that it’s not dangerous. Just a moment ago they were exchanging vows, their heartfelt promises to each other leaving not only Chanyeol but also Kyungsoo in tears though now they've stopped the tears and have proceeded to giggle like idiots. 

“My idiot husband,” he mumbles, blush high on his cheeks after saying those things too loud for his liking.

Luckily Chanyeol seems to be as awestruck as he is because he responds with, “ _My husband._ Wow.” 

And they continue their giggle fits, causing the crowd to laugh together at their antics. At the corner of his eyes, he could see their friends, causing a ruckus and laughing freely along with their parents. At any one time, Kyungsoo would feel embarrassed, but staring at Chanyeol's gleeful expression and feeling his hand stroking their wedding ring delightedly, Kyungsoo feels giddy, lightheaded, and frankly he doesn't have it in him to care about embarrassment any longer. 

“May your love be eternal and undying. You may now kiss.”

And Kyungsoo smiles, meeting Chanyeol halfway. It's almost perfect, although the kiss doesn't last long because they make it difficult with their giggles. It's only an innocent touch of the lips, fleeting. But Kyungsoo doesn't mind. He doesn't want perfect; he want _this_. He wants Chanyeol, warm and happy in his embrace. Opening his eyes, Kyungsoo sees Chanyeol’s blinding smile and he knows, that Chanyeol doesn't mind it either.

**Author's Note:**

> t h e e n d.
> 
>  
> 
> this is my first official tako entry so i'm really nervous and jittery. also it's not supposed to be this huge but i'm glad it is because chansoo deserve the loves. i found the phone strap Kyungsoo gave Chanyeol on Tumblr, it's really cute and i'd like to share the pic but now i can't seems to find it again so.. just use your imagination for it. 
> 
> also, I'm bad at naming things so the title has nothing to do with everything except the 5+1 things and I just added the infinity cause I'd like to think they'll end up happily married ever after. if it's not clear enough, the noes are; 1) dying Kyungsoo's hair, 2) hug/pet, 3) couple things, 4) kiss and 5) for them to stay together. The yes of course, "yes, I'll marry you"
> 
> comments are always appreciated,  
> xoxo
> 
> p.s. talk to me on [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/ininawaa?s=09)


End file.
